I had my third grade create the shadow puppets of India. I had purchased a
shadow puppet from a store much like pier one and showed the kids. We looked
at pictures of India sculpture etc. to get the feeling of India. The
children wrote simple plays
like "the lost dog" corny but they were so proud. Then groups of four
planned
what their puppets would look like - people, animals scenery. We made a
simple
puppet stage out of a couch box and decorated the outside. Our lighting was
very
simple a single bulb desk lamp. Sometimes it could be set down or hand held.
We all had a ball and invited each third grade to view the others
production. Even '
our hard to please principal at that time enjoyed the kids creativity. We
used heavy
tag board for the puppets and simple brass brads so that they could move.
Thin
sticks attached to hands of the puppets allowed the kids to move the puppets
arms.
I hope to do this again this year. Websites would be welcome. Roberta